McCain’s hubris, and Sarah Palin

The Indian Express: The selection of Palin doesn’t undermine the notion that Obama is too inexperienced to be president; it gives Obama the chance to actually take the edge on national security while making John McCain’s age a central issue... Whatever the political calculations involved in picking a veep, the most important qualification for the vice presidency is the ability to assume the presidency in a crisis. [The] next president will have to finish the denuclearisation of North Korea; prevent the nuclearisation of Iran; organise a departure from Iraq that maintains some level of stability; defeat a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan; establish, nurture, and make the most of a relationship with Pakistan’s new leaders; and confront a revanchist Russia while preserving and enhancing its cooperation on non-proliferation and climate change — to say nothing of working with India, China, or our allies. Could Sarah Palin conceivably manage this task? Her tenure as a small-town mayor and Alaska governor has given her no foreign policy experience whatsoever... By choosing her anyway, he has demonstrated hubris well beyond anything Obama has displayed on his most arrogant day. [This] is insulting and dangerous and suggests that McCain may want to think twice before accusing Obama of putting his personal ambition ahead of the national interest...

But surely a campaign that has been charged with being too naïve to manage rogue state dictators can have a bit of fun with the idea that a one-time Miss Congeniality could effectively face down Vladimir Putin, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, or Kim Jong Il.

Excerpted from an article in ‘ The New Republic’

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